Wood inside club shaft?

[Faxe99]

I recently went to regrip a putter of mine and found that underneath the grip had been augmented to either add length or fill the shaft in. There is probably abour 4-5 inches of wood spindle sticking up out of the steel shaft...Anyone know why this would be the case?

Edited September 4, 2018 by Faxe99

[Patch]

As you posted probably for length. I have seen it done before for adding length. At <5", it's probably not for weight. 

I have also seen longer pieces of wood added in the shaft for weight issues. My Heavy Putter has shaft added weight due to the heavier putter head. I don't think the extra shaft weight in my putter is wood though.

 

Edited September 4, 2018 by Patch

[Faxe99]

Thank you sir!

[Adam C]

My guess is that this was done by someone at home who probably didn't know what they were doing and decided to add length by ramming a wood dowel into the shaft. Is it the best way to do this, no. But does it work to add length, yes.

[iacas]

Four to five INCHES of wood? Seriously?

[Faxe99]

[iacas]

Uhhhhhhhh… What in the holy hell?

[Adam C]

It really isn't that surprising seeing it on a putter like that. I have worked on irons that people plugged with wood. I said previously that the person who did it didn't know what they were doing but that probably wasn't fair. It really wasn't until pretty recently that we had all the different shaft extensions available and I think that wood dowels were used pretty regularly. Now 5 inches is a lot, but will be minimally noticed on a putter as evident by this discovery. You would lose a good bit of feel. My biggest question is why the shaft looks like it was chewed off by a bear. That is a strange break pattern.

[1badbadger]

Yep...it looks like the shaft broke and the wood dowel was used for an extension.  I agree with @Adam C...that's not how steel shafts usually break.  It looks like it was torn off!

[Faxe99]

Now what should I do with this discovery? Just slap on a new grip or get a new shaft as well...These older putters are glorified mini-golf models compared to todays technology. I didnt get swindled or anything either. I got this in a horde of clubs for rather cheap. Thanks again to all of you who commented and witnessed this kitchen sink approach to club repair!

[Piz]

If you like the club...replace the wooden dowel with a steel, aluminum, or graphite, shaft extension.  That will straighten out the kink and stabilize the butt end.  While it would not be advisable to add so much to an iron or wood; it won't be a problem with a putter.